By Trey Hunter
Sports Editor
PONCA CITY – No. 2 Piedmont dropped the final regular season game of the year last Friday night, but the Cats will still be hosting Regional action this weekend.
The Cats made a late run, but after falling behind early, weren’t able to stage a comeback, falling 57-47 to Ponca City on the road to close out the regular season slate.
Piedmont fell behind, 19-14 after the first quarter and entered halftime trailing 35-23 after a 16-9 Ponca City run in the second quarter. Ponca City didn’t let up in the third going on a 14-9 run before the Wildcats tried to comeback. Piedmont’s 15-8 run in the final eight minutes wasn’t enough as the team suffered its first loss in three games.
The Wildcats shot just 32-percent from the field, including just 21-percent from three-point range. They went 11-for-28 from inside the arc and 4-for-19 from beyond. The team also shot just 59-percent from the free-throw line, going 13-for-22.
The Cats also lost the rebound battle, 30-27 and turned the ball over 12 times. They did force 18 turnovers on five steals and six deflections while scoring 11 second-chance points with 20 points in the paint.
Three players scored in double figures for Piedmont, including senior Regan Crawford who led the team with 13 points. She hit three attempts from long range and dished out two assists. Senior Maci Attalla scored 11 points on 4-for-12 shooting with a team-high nine rebounds and sophomore Delanie Crawford scored 10 points on 5-for-12 shooting with four rebounds and an assist.
Sophomore Maddy Lee chipped in seven points and four rebounds and junior Tyeshia Anderson scored six points with five rebounds and a team-high four assists.
Madison Birnbaum led Ponca City with 13 points while Baylee Fincher scored 12 and Trinity Regnier scored 11.
Piedmont now turns to postseason action and will be hosting the Class 5A Regional Tournament this weekend.
The Wildcats host Santa Fe South tonight at 8 p.m. with a spot in the Class 5A Area Tournament on the line. With a win, the team would face the winner between Woodward and Guymon for the Regional championship on Saturday at 2 p.m.
